


Ripples on the Sea of Time

by sunflower1343



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Explicit Sexual Content, Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-04
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-15 15:50:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2234649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflower1343/pseuds/sunflower1343
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if you could go back, knowing what you know now, and do it all over again?  Feilong, Asami, and Takaba are tangled up in attempts to change the future by changing the past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for (and won) an AU fantasy challenge on LJ in March 2006. Back then, the fans who read scanlations thought that Fei and Yan believed Liu senior was Fei's father. Turns out that's not what the Japanese says at all (they didn't know who Fei's parents were). But that's why it's a point in the story. 
> 
> The title is an homage to one of my favorite short story authors, who wrote two of my favorite 'playing with time' stories in the 60s and 80s, one of which happened to inspire this. Anyone who can guess the author or stories, well, probably has good taste. ;)
> 
> This is for Hiro.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sky was the orange of a tropical drink, not the sort of color he associated with funerals. Of course nature wouldn't cooperate. Nature liked irony and his life was ironic if nothing else. 

It would all end tonight. He intended to kill Asami. Here. In public. He knew he wouldn't live either. Not when Asami saw the pictures of Takaba, first broken, then dead. 

His hand went to the pocket in his pants, caressing the outlines of the photos through the fabric. His fingers were trembling. He closed his fist angrily. Why was he so nervous? He knew death-- he'd seen it hundreds of times. He'd only been shaken with the first. And with his father.

_Father... I'm glad you can't see me now. What have I made of this life you gave me? I truly was a worthless son. At least Yan had ambition. My only ambition is to see Asami die with a hint of regret in his eyes, finally admitting that it was all his fault. And I killed an innocent to make that happen._

He hadn't planned it. If he were to be honest with himself here, at the end, he had to admit that something had snapped within him. Now he knew that there was something broken in him, something irretrievable, something that couldn't be fixed. So instead of simply dealing out punishment, he'd come to receive it as well. To be put out of his misery. He couldn't let what had happened last night ever happen again, and only Asami could stop it. Perhaps he was a coward but he couldn't do it himself.

So he leaned back against the steel railing by the bay, waiting for destiny. 

A sudden breeze kicked up around him, carrying the scent of flowers.

"Lovely sunset, isn't it?"

Feilong started and glanced to his right. When had that old man appeared? His trained eyes quickly traveled over the body beside him and found no harm. The man was dressed a little strangely for someone his age, maybe 50 or so, but other than that, Feilong's instincts were quiet.

"A sunset like that, it makes an old man like me feel time. I start thinking about the past. About regrets and things left undone, unsaid. I get the feeling you know just what I'm talking about."

Feilong's eyes narrowed. Was this a coincidence? It must be. "Everyone has such regrets."

The man nodded. "They do. But I think you feel this more strongly than most. That's correct, isn't it?"

"And I would imagine that everyone feels that way about his own life."

"Maybe. But not everyone has the chance to do something about it." The old man reached into his pants pocket and pulled something out.

Feilong's hand darted in and squeezed the frail wrist, knowing just which points to press. The man whimpered and dropped what he'd been holding.

A watch clattered onto the pavement. Just a pocket watch. Feilong felt a little guilty and he bent to retrieve it.

The man rubbed his wrist. "You know, you might want to try decaf." 

Feilong held the watch out. "I'm very sorry. It's instinctive. People have tried to kill me in the past."

"I can't say that I blame them. Keep the watch. I was going to give it to you anyway."

Feilong looked at it. It was very old and very expensive looking, with multiple hands and dials that even measured years. But he had no need of one. Not after tonight.

"Thank you, but I don't need a watch."

The old man tilted his head. "I think you need this one. Keep it. Was there ever a time when you were happy?"

Feilong was growing annoyed with the fellow. "Of course there was. Just yesterday, if only for a moment...." His voice failed him. It truly had only been for a moment. Happiness was fleeting these days. He stared at the watch.

"Set the watch to that time."

"I really don't have time for this."

"No pun intended, I'm sure. You have more time than you realize. Are you scared? It's a simple thing really. But I can understand if you're afraid to listen to a stranger, even about setting a watch. Nothing scarier than watch setting, I always tell my friends."

"Oh shut up, you annoying old man." Feilong began twisting the knobs, adjusting the day and hour and minute. "There, it's set. Are you happy? I'm not."

"Of course you aren't. Click the large knob at the top to start it running."

"What, like this?" 

Click.

"Yes. Just like that Feilong. And I hope you have better luck finding your happiness than I did."

Another breeze swept along the promenade. People stared at the old man by the railing, talking to himself.

A tall, impossibly handsome man strode up and looked back and forth, frustrated, angry, puzzled. "Why the hell am I in Hong Kong?"

"Looking for someone?"

The man looked at him, confused. "I thought I was, but ... it seems I was mistaken. Who are you? Do I know you?"

The old man stared at him a moment, then smiled and shook his head. "No. We might once have been friends, but we no longer know each other."

"What the hell does that mean? None of this makes sense. I need a drink. Then I may as well take care of some business while I'm here. And why am I telling you this anyway?"

But when he looked around, he was alone. 

 

~~~

 

Click.

Feilong blinked. Once. Twice.

He slowly turned in a circle.

There was no mistaking it. He was in his garden.

It was early morning. Just like yesterday. Just like the moment he'd set the watch for. He sat abruptly on the stone bench behind him. It had to be a trick. 

He'd come out here yesterday, after that horrible night. He'd been ashamed of what he'd become to the point where Asami's death wasn't enough. He'd known his own had to follow too, because he deserved it.

He'd sat, in the sun, trying to let it burn his guilt away. It hadn't succeeded. So he had gone back in shortly afterwards and shot Takaba, as much to seal his fate as to put the boy out of his misery.

For one short moment though in the garden he'd known a small happiness. Tao had found him there. Tao, the one light in his life, had come to him that morning and even managed to make him smile with one of his silly antics. 

He'd immediately made arrangements for Tao to be sent far from Hong Kong so he'd be gone before the bloodbath the next night. He'd told Tao he had to go to prepare a vacation home for them because Feilong would need one after his business was finished. Except the hideaway was for Tao until things blew over here. Tao should be safely away there now.

He heard footsteps on the path behind him and spun about. _Tao? Here? Now? What's going on?_

"Master Feilong! I have your morning tea. I meant to take it to your room but they told me you were out here."

He stared at the boy in shock. The words, the motions, were identical. It was as if....

But it couldn't be, could it?

"Tao? Why are you here? I thought you left yesterday?"

Tao looked at him strangely. "Left for where? Did Master Fei not get enough sleep? Here is today's paper with your tea."

Feilong glanced at the tray as Tao set it on the bench. He froze. "That's yesterday's paper."

Tao looked down and picked the paper up, then studied it. "No no, Master Fei. It says right here, August 23rd. It's today's."

Feilong couldn't believe what he was hearing. "It is the evening of the 24th."

Tao stepped forward and took his hand. "Master Fei, perhaps you need some rest."

Feilong snatched the paper and stared at the headlines. It was yesterday's. All of this was what happened yesterday. At the time for which he'd set the watch. This couldn't be happening. But all the evidence pointed toward it. He couldn't argue with the sun low in the eastern sky. With the click of the watch he'd gone back in time.

And yet not everything was the same. He hadn't questioned Tao yesterday. Was he changing what had happened?

His heart began to beat faster. Could it be possible? Could he affect a time and change the course of history? If he could...

He wanted to make sure. He raced to the open window behind him, the one into his bedroom. He paused when he realized Tao had followed. "Tao, go pour some tea for me and wait there."

Once Tao left he then turned back to the window. He steeled himself for what he might see, then swallowed and brushed the curtains aside. 

He was there. Takaba. Still lying there. Alive but unknowing. The blood....

Even with all the deaths he'd dealt, the knowledge that he was capable of that sickened him. 

He drew a deep breath and turned from the window, his thoughts racing, then slowly walked back to where Tao stood.

"Tao. Tell Chou to take Takaba to a hospital, to pay for his treatment, and then to call the hotel where Asami is staying and inform him."

Tao's face brightened. "Oh Master Fei! I'm so glad we're getting rid of that stinky Japanese. You'll be happy again now." He scampered off to the house.

Feilong sat there the entire time and listened to the sounds within the bedroom as the young man was washed and dressed and carried off. He heard the car drive off taking Takaba to freedom, to a place where they might help him. When this time yesterday.... No. When in Fei's other existence, Takaba had been very much dead.

Feilong began to laugh unsteadily. The old man had handed him the key to all his problems. "Yes Tao, we'll be happy again. It's all right now. Or at least it will be."

He pulled the watch from his pocket. He tried to remember a good time, when he'd been alone, before it all happened. May 16th. The morning. During his usual practice time. Around 8:30 am. He set the hour. Then he set the year. Back eight years.

He closed his eyes and sent a small prayer to the child who was probably dancing for joy and cleaning out Takaba's room. "Goodbye Tao. Wish me luck."

And he pressed the knob on the watch.

A breeze blew through the empty garden.

 

~~~

 

Click.

Feilong found himself in the salon he'd used for training all those years ago. He'd kept it much the same, updating some equipment, but for the most part it was identical. A long mirror stretched the full length of one wall. 

He found himself staring into it in shock. He wasn't sure what he'd expected. Another copy of himself? Perhaps himself as he was now, older, taking the place of the younger? Instead, he found old eyes looking out of a young face. His soul had been poured into his younger body. 

He looked around as if to see where the other soul had gone. There was no sign of it and he felt a little silly. He also felt slightly guilty because he had no idea what had happened to it. Did he destroy his young soul? Send it into the future into his old body? He had no way of knowing. Some price was probably paid for this chance. He wondered if it was taken from himself. He shook his head. He'd worry about the metaphysics of it later, after his problems were solved.

It was about two weeks before Asami would arrive. He had a number of things he wanted to try. If one didn't work, he'd try another. But there was one thing he needed to do before everything else.

 

-

 

Feilong stopped outside the bedroom door. His hands were sweating. He'd not felt so young in years. He lay his forehead against the cool wood, trying to calm himself. The room within was quiet. He summoned his courage and knocked firmly, then opened the door.

His father lay sleeping in his bed, peaceful, completely at odds with how Feilong last remembered him. Tears filled his eyes as emotions threatened to overwhelm him.

"Feilong? Is that you? What are you doing here? Don't you have training?"

He calmed his features. It was more difficult than he'd expected. "Good morning Father. I wanted to see you."

His eyes eagerly ran down the form of the man in the bed. He was frail, certainly, more than he recalled him being, but alive. _Alive._

Feilong slowly walked to the bed, afraid that he was dreaming and that a misstep would jar him back to reality.

His father watched, puzzled. "Feilong? Is something wrong? You seem odd this morning."

Feilong sat carefully on the edge of the bed. He wasn't sure how to say this, so he just let the words come out in a rush. "I _am_ different today, Father. Yesterday I was content to wait for you to notice me and speak. Today I know better than to do that, because one never knows when one will run out of time. I wanted to tell you that I love you. That of all the people in this world, only your love matters to me. That I wouldn't care if there were no blood connection between us. You are my father and I'm proud to be your son."

He held his breath, waiting for a response.

His father turned guilty-looking eyes aside. "You know, don't you?"

Ah. He sighed. Everything would be in the open. "Yes, I know. It means nothing to me. You who raised me are my true father."

"Feilong." His father laid a hand on top of his and looked at him with concern. "Has he approached you?"

"He has not, but he will. You know that it's only a matter of time. I'm a potential tool, and an embarrassment to him. He doesn't know that I want nothing to do with him and his life. He won't want me to live once he knows. But I won't allow him to harm us." 

His father looked at him, speculation in his eyes. "Where does this new maturity come from, Feilong? Yesterday you were a child. Today I see a man looking out from your eyes. I would hand the reins of Baishe over to the man before me."

A joy rose up inside him the like of which he'd never known. He turned his hand over and clasped his father's hand and they began to talk, of the organization and its future, and of Feilong's hopes and dreams for it. It was one of the happiest moments of his life.

 

\--

 

All that ended when he stepped from the room, leaving his father asleep inside.

Yantsuui stood in the hall, arms crossed, leaning against the wall. He took a step forward and swung at Feilong, aiming for his face. Feilong stepped to the side and grabbed Yantsuui's arm, using his momentum to slam him against the far wall, twisting his arm behind him, pressing his face into the plaster.

"Surely you didn't mean to hit me, brother? Only someone foolish would do such a thing, and you've never been foolish. What has made you so angry, I wonder? That father was speaking to me as an equal? Or that, innocent as it was, I was on a bed with another man?"

Yantsuui's body stiffened. His voice was the hiss of serpents, and Feilong took care to keep himself out of reach of his fangs. "How dare you speak to me that way, you upstart bastard? You, who are incapable of completing a single task without bumbling, think Father sees you as an equal? Don't make me laugh. If I do see you as a bed warmer, it's only because lying on your back with your legs spread is the only thing you're capable of doing well."

The uncertain child he'd been had taken abuse like that daily as his due. It had been a long time since he'd been that boy, and this Feilong was pissed. He'd killed men for less, but this was his brother, pigheaded as he was. Maybe he needed a lesson is what it meant to be a whore. Feilong slid his hand around to the front of Yantsuui's waist. "Oh, I don't know Yan. For some reason, I always pictured you in that role." He jerked at the ties holding Yantsuui's pants and let the loosened silks slide to the floor. He was repelled by what he was about to do, but knew a shock was needed to stop Yan's harassment.

His hand slid up Yantsuui's bare thigh. "Hard already? Because it's your brother? Or at the thought of someone taking you?"

Yantsuui struggled against him, but for all his training he was no match for Feilong with a hand on his balls. Feilong squeezed and none too gently. Yantsuui stilled. "That's right Yan. I could crush these and end the Liu line forever. Wouldn't that be a pity?" He twisted his wrist and watched the tears leak from his brother's eyes.

"You know Yan, for years I looked up to you. I adored my older brother. I thought that you were the smartest man in the world except for Father. Now I have to wonder about that. What kind of man would constantly humiliate and abuse the one who could have been his best ally? What does that say for your potential as a future leader of Baishe? To me it says that you're perhaps best fit to serve that leader on your back with your legs spread. Only he doesn't want you, even that way." 

He shoved Yantsuui away, making him stumble over the pants around his ankles and fall to the floor. Feilong looked down on his brother's humiliated and furious face. "Don't ever touch me again if you want to live. And tomorrow we'll start discussing Baishe's future. Its future with me at the helm." He turned his back on his brother and walked away, feeling freer than he had in years.

 

\--

 

The next few days were heaven for him. He spent every morning with his father, their relationship deepening the love and respect between the two. Their conversations branched out from work and family to common interests they enjoyed. It was his father who had built the Liu library up to the magnificent collection that it now was, and they talked for hours over their shared passion for books.

Afternoons were spent instructing and shepherding Yantsuui through the running of Baishe. The organization's men soon noticed the none too subtle differences in the power structure of the brothers and began turning to Feilong for advice on how to handle problems.

And Feilong became so wrapped up in his new-found relationship and responsibilities, he failed to notice how this was affecting his brother. Through it all, Yantsuui seethed.

 

\--

 

"Father, look at what I found. I received a call last night from the Hung family bookstore. Is it not lovely?" 

Feilong lay a pair of books on this father's lap, old books, bound in ivory and covered in blue silk brocade.

"Ah! Can it be? You've found the Chi PaiShih collection? I've wanted this for such a long time. And what did you pay for it, young man?"

Feilong smiled, delighted at the reaction. "I paid what it was worth, which is little enough to see that smile on your face."

Liu patted the bed beside him. "Come, sit. Let me show you the works of a true master of the watercolor."

Fei swept his long silks to the side and curled onto the bed next to his father, an arm around his shoulders. Their heads were together, examining a print of some fish when Yantsuui walked in.

"Father, I need to speak to you about –" Yantsuui stopped dead and stared at them. "How cozy." He continued walking until he stood by the bed, looking down at them. He stared at Feilong scornfully.

"Perhaps my brother has forgotten that we have a business to run, but I have not. Father, we need to decide what to do about that arms dealer in Jiangxi. Have you thought anymore about the situation?"

Liu peered up at Feilong. "Did you not handle that?"

Feilong nodded. "I apologize Yan, an immediate decision was needed so I sent a message out to our local man two days ago. The matter should be settled by now. I expect to hear from him today, as a matter of fact."

Liu smiled fondly at Feilong and patted his knee. "You see, Yantsuui? There is nothing to worry about. I have been blessed with two diligent sons."

Liu looked up at Yantsuui. "Would you like to join us, son? Feilong has brought me a marvelous gift today and I'd like to share it with you."

Yantsuui glanced at the book and sneered. "No thank you, Father. I prefer training in arts that will be useful to our family, rather than just being decorative." And with a pointed look at Feilong, he turned and stalked out of the room.

Liu looked after him a moment, then shrugged. "Look, my son. Look at the balance in this next painting...."

 

\--

 

The morning that Asami was due in town, Feilong returned home early from his assassination quite satisfied with himself. The man had wanted Feilong in charge, but only as a figurehead. Feilong wanted no such traitors in his organization. _And this time I got that damned dog first._

Yantsuui was waiting behind the desk, and Feilong couldn't help being annoyed. He'd started seeing that as his own place. 

"You've completed the job?" Yantsuui's eyes ran over his body. It was as far as the gestures went now after their little talk. 

He nodded. "If course. It was simple. He'll no longer trouble our family."

"Excellent." Yantsuui rose. "Father wanted to see the two of us as soon as you returned. We should go there now."

"I'll shower first. I smell of death. I don't wish to bring that into his room."

Yantsuui smirked. "As you wish. I'll be there discussing business. You can join us when you're your own flowery self."

Feilong had been leaving the room, but paused upon hearing this. "Don't cross the line Yan. You won't like what you find on the other side."

"Oh don't worry _brother_. I wouldn't dream of it."

He stared at Yantsuui a long minute, then satisfied, left the room.

 

\--

 

Voices were raised when he entered his father's room.

"How could you do such a thing to me? I'm your real son! The leadership of Baishe is my _right_."

His father spoke sternly. "The leadership of Baishe is mine to hand down to the one I think best fit to lead it. Yantsuui, I'm perfectly aware of the fact that you've been hiding things from me lately and trying to set up deals without my knowledge. I may be bedridden, but the first loyalty of the men of Baishe is to me. You're foolish for forgetting it. Feilong would not have done so."

His father looked over at him warmly. He smiled back, pride in his heart.

"I would not have minded had so many of your deals not gone sour. You've shown a decided lack of finesse in dealing with the Japanese, for example. I'm well aware of your plans for this Asami Ryuichi, who came into town today. Do you not see that killing him is the act of a thug? He has great potential and we could make a small fortune by working with him. You don't think far enough ahead. Feilong sees years ahead."

He smirked. _Literally._

"But Feilong's not even your son. And worse, he's Tou's bastard. Tou admitted it to me!"

Feilong and his father stilled, and his father's eyes turned cold. "So Tou has approached you? And you didn't see fit to inform us? Could it be that you've been considering his offer? He made you one, I'm sure of it. He's a scheming liar, that one. What did he offer you? The leadership and your brother?"

Yantsuui turned red. "I don't know what you're talking about. I can't believe you don't trust me. In two weeks you've gone from happily letting me run things to being Feilong's lapdog. What's wrong with you? How has he poisoned your mind?" 

Yantsuui's expression suddenly turned ugly and he swung around to face Feilong. "But you knew you weren't father and son before I told you, didn't you? So what kind of closeness has been growing in here, in this bedroom, day after day?" His eyes glinted madly. "What have you bought with your whore's body?"

In that moment Feilong wanted to kill Yantsuui, but was aware of his father's eyes on him and restrained the impulse. He spoke with a cold contempt. "Go to your room, Yan. Yes, like a child, for your words show your immaturity. I'll be posting a guard outside your door in case you have thoughts on disobeying. Father has given me the leadership of Baishe and this family and I will be obeyed. Go. Now. Before I have you carried up there and thrown in."

His father nodded. "Obey your brother Yantsuui. Stop bringing disgrace upon our name."

Yantsuui was shaking with anger. "How dare you? How dare you take my birthright away and humiliate me? I won't allow it." 

Feilong watched in stunned horror as Yantsuui pulled a gun from under his cheongsam and shot his father in the chest, then calmly turned to Feilong and shot him as well. He fell to the floor, unable to even think past the screams of denial in his mind.

Yantsuui's eyes were slightly dazed as he stood over his handiwork. He mumbled to himself. "I need to get that Japanese bastard too, before he gets out of hand." He stepped over Feilong's body and let himself out the door.

Feilong's inability to act ended as soon as the door clicked shut. He could barely move, but crawled to his father's side. His father was already dead when he got there. His mind and heart shrieked at the injustice of it. It had been so perfect. They had been so close. To have to lose him again, this way...

How could he have let this happen a second time? How could he not have realized that he was pushing his brother too far? He paused, breathing quickly, trying to ignore the pain. The physical was far easier to put aside than the emotional. He'd never thought Yantsuui capable of such a thing. Could his brother have done this to his father the first time? The idea would have shocked Feilong before, but not now.

All he knew was that he had to try again. He would not let his father die this way. He pulled the watch from his pocket and with bloody hands adjusted the date to the day before he'd gotten there this time. May 15th. He lightly touched his father's still face with his fingertips, then clicked the top button of the watch just as he was slipping into unconsciousness.

 

~~~

 

Click.

He was back in the practice room. The time had been left at 8:30 am, so he had appeared during morning exercises again.

He fell to his knees, shaking with fury. _Yan, you fool! Did you also kill Father all those years ago because of your jealousy? Will you do that now, no matter what I try? Would I have to let Father be a stranger and you dominate me in order for the three of us to live? It's not worth it. And it's not going to be that way._

He leashed his anger until it burned cold inside him, rose to his feet, and went to his room. He dressed carefully, in Yantsuui's favorite cheongsam. He paused on the way out the door and added a flower to his hair. 

He knew he'd find his brother working in the study. He knocked and when given permission, entered, eyes down. He heard his brother rise and dismiss his men and say that they were not to be disturbed.

"What brings you to me this morning, Feilong? And looking so beautiful." He saw the toes of his brother's slippers, then a finger tilted his chin up. "You're so obedient today. What a welcome change. I wonder why....?"

The finger caressed the line of his jaw. He turned his face into it, rubbing the hand with his cheek. 

"Fei," his brother murmured. "Have you finally realized?" Yantsuui stepped in close, then lowered his lips to Feilong's. The kiss was hesitant, until Feilong pressed back. Then it became fierce, all about possession. When Yantsuui finally raised his head there was joy in his eyes, but it was replaced by confusion. "Feilong? Why are you so sad?"

He hesitated. He'd rarely seen his brother so happy. But if one had to die, better at one's happiest moment. He pulled his brother's head down with one hand for another kiss. The other hand pointed his gun at Yantsuui's heart and pulled the trigger.

Yantsuui staggered back in disbelief, blood pouring from his wound. "Feilong?"

"I love you, Yan. But I cannot allow you to kill Father again."

Yantsuui fell to his knees. "Feilong?"

Feilong knelt beside him and took him in his arms. "I'm here. I won't let you die alone. That's more than you did for me. But then, you always did tell me I had a soft heart."

Yantsuui's eyes quickly faded, the shock turning to sadness right before they dimmed. He didn't say another word. By the time he was gone, the men of Baishe surrounded Feilong. They knew what had happened and accepted it. Loyalty to Yantsuui would get them nothing now. They were loyal to the house.

Feilong rose to his feet. "Prepare my brother's body for his funeral. An intruder shot him. A terrible thing. I must tell Father."

But a man was already at his father's side, whispering in his ear.

When Feilong arrived at his room, his father's eyes were furious as they stared at him. "Feilong. I have tolerated you in this household, raising you as a son though you were no blood of mine. Now you are no son of mine. Leave this house. And take your real name, Tou Feilong. You are no Liu. You are nothing to me."

Horror raced through Feilong's body. "But Father, he was going to kill you."

His father did not respond.

_No, this wasn't supposed to happen!_

"Father I did it because I love you!"

His father motioned to his guards, who grabbed Feilong's arms and began pulling him away. 

"Father, no! Father!"

He was weeping as he was thrown from the house, partially in pain, partially in anger. Of all outcomes, he hadn't imagined this. What a fool he was, to act before he had his father's trust. He was growing tired of having to start from scratch but he had no choice but to go back again. He pulled the watch out and this time set it for late the night before. He needed some sleep, and time to think.

He pressed the knob on the watch.

Click.

 

~~~

 

tbc


	2. Part 2

Click.

Feilong was in his bed, alone, staring at the dark ceiling.

He obviously wasn't thinking things through thoroughly enough. He needed a better plan. He thought out his objectives. His father, alive, and the two of them close again. For himself, control of Baishe. For either of those to happen, Yan would have to be removed from the picture. And that meant he'd have to die, because there'd be no way he'd stay away if exiled. 

And yet he couldn't kill Yan. He'd found that out the hard way. Who then?

The answer was obvious. Asami.

He'd thought he might kill Asami early on, before he caused any trouble.

Now that didn't seem like such a good idea. He knew what things would be like with just him and Yan and father. No, the balance of power had to be shifted by a third party and Yan removed.

Asami had shot Yan before. He just needed to persuade him to do it again, this time to kill. Sooner though than he had in the other timeline. Before Father was killed. Then, of course, the grieving brother would kill the killer, and he and Father would live happily together.

Perfect. He would keep his head down and be obedient these next couple of weeks until Asami came to town. Then he would make him his. Asami liked to rule by sex. This time he'd have the tables turned. Feilong smiled, all his plans set, and fell into an easy sleep.

\--

This time he went to the top of the high-rise hotel himself and knocked at the door of the suite. It was opened by his nemesis. Asami studied him with a smirk, his ever-present cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Feilong studied him in return. He looked so much younger than he remembered. Not so many harsh lines on this face.

Then he remembered that he was supposed to be demure but defiant. The kind Asami liked. He cast his eyes down with a blush.

"This is unexpected. I thought the Liu family would try to kill me, but here I find this pretty flower waiting outside my hotel room like a gift. Come in." Asami stepped aside and gestured with his hand toward the room.

Feilong nodded a gracious assent and stepped inside.

He walked daintily across the carpet, adding a slight sway to his hips. He glanced at the reflection in the window to see Asami watching them, but with amused eyes.

 _Bastard. He knows I'm here to seduce him. Fuck this. Fuck him. This is happening on my terms._ Feilong turned, tossing his long loose hair over his shoulders and stared defiantly back, letting his anger be seen. The eyes before him turned interested. How predictable. But then all this was. He turned away again, facing the window, trying to control the fury within him.

"I know why you're here, Asami Ryuichi. I know about Tou and your deal with him." _Hmmpf. That wiped the smirk off his face._ "I know that you intend to use me to split my family and break our power. And I know that Tou intends to kill me. Did he tell you _that_ part of the plan?"

"You're crazy. He sent me to protect you. You're his son." 

"I'm his bastard. An assassin and a member of a powerful Triad family. He's a politician. Such a connection can only be embarrassing in his eyes. He's a fool. Were he to renew ties with my family, we could grant him any amount of power. But he's short-sighted. He only thinks of liabilities, not of potentials. You'd be wise to distance yourself from him." 

He felt a warmth at his back that was Asami. Long fingers ran through his hair. "You're not what I expected. I thought you'd be green, young, inexperienced. But your eyes, they're old." Feilong's eyes flew up to meet Asami's in the reflection. 

Asami lowered his lips to the nape of Feilong's neck. His breath was warm on Feilong's skin. "You came here to seduce me. Why did you change your mind?" 

Feilong was still angry. He wanted to push him away. But the touch was making him remember. He remembered Asami's hands on him. His lips. He shook his head, trying to clear the now-false memories. "Because you're an asshole. You always were." 

Asami glanced up in surprise at that. "Have we met before? I would have remembered you, I'm sure of that." 

Feilong stopped himself from blurting the truth out to this man, something that shocked him. Surely he couldn't still trust Asami after all that had happened? This young body must be feeling echoes of what had happened before. 

"We haven't met. It was just in your dossier. Your picture. Then in big English letters below it: Asshole." 

Asami chuckled. He slipped a free arm about his waist and he nipped at Feilong's soft skin. "What a coincidence. My dossier on you mentioned the same word, though in a different context." 

Feilong spun about in anger, swinging at the man, but he only ended up pinned with the cold glass of the window at his back. His teeth ground together. He managed one word. "Asami." 

Asami kissed the clenched jaw, rubbing it softly with his fingers until it finally began to relax. "That's it. Let me in, Feilong." 

Asami's lips slid across his. Memories of their first kiss flooded his new body. Youth responded. He was hard in an instant. Asami noticed, the bastard, and lightly rubbed their hips together. 

"This is strange," Asami murmured as he licked at Feilong's mouth. "It feels new, yet old. Like you. Young intemperate flesh, yet experienced controlled spirit. What has made you this way, I wonder?" 

Feilong was stunned by Asami's insight, as well as by the impact those kisses were having. He'd come here intending to seduce, but Asami was in complete control. An experienced, controlled spirit? Hah. Maybe with someone else. He wanted to shed all control and take what Asami had to offer. He wanted more. This time, he wanted it all. 

Feilong opened his mouth and took Asami's tongue in. His hands went from the glass behind him to the head of thick hair before him, tugging the man closer. He wanted to devour him. 

Asami must have felt the same, because his hands began tearing at Feilong's clothes, pulling at them, shifting them aside. Feilong worked Asami's body, his long fingernails scoring cloth as they slid down his chest to the hardness below. Asami's hand had already closed about him, squeezing him, milking him. He struggled. "No..." 

But what he meant was, not just that, not this time. 

His hand slid into Asami's pants. Gods he was hard and he was huge. Feilong didn't care. The thought of that, in him, in this new body excited him beyond anything he'd ever experienced when taking another man. He starting pumping his fist. "Asami..." He moaned into the other's mouth. "Asami..." 

Asami pulled his mouth away, leaving him feeling bereft. "I'm going to take you. Has anyone ever done that Feilong?" 

Feilong shook his head, suddenly shy. "I'd always been the one... But I want you to." He stepped aside and quickly shed his pants so that he only wore the long silk top. He turned and faced the window, then lifting it, looked back over his shoulder. 

He must have looked totally debauched because Asami's eyes took on a wild light. Asami moved forward, covering his body, pressing him into the cold glass, rubbing up against his ass. "I don't have any lube." 

"Pants..." was all he could say with the sensations flooding him. 

Asami bent and retrieved them, then quickly found the tube. "Good. I want you slick and I want you tight and you're going to take me in, all of me." 

Feilong felt a rush of heat at the words. He wanted this, desperately. Cool liquid poured liberally down his ass, then long fingers began working it inside him. He relaxed, knowing enough to do so, and let Asami open him. Finally, after eight years, he was getting what he'd wanted. 

He heard the words against his ear. "I can't wait anymore Feilong. You make me feel like I'm 16, all hormones and no control." 

He felt the large head of Asami's cock at his opening, and he made himself relax and take it as it slowly forced its way into him. "Good. So good. That's it. Look how you're swallowing me. Almost there." 

Asami's push forward was relentless, giving him no time to think, no chance to deny. He was breathing faster and harder. The new sensations were unbearable. Finally, finally, he felt Asami come to a stop, their hips touching. He was shaking, overwhelmed with need. "Asami?" 

Asami moved in answer, slowly pulling slightly out, slowly pushing back in. Not fucking him hard, not fast, yet thoroughly. "Asami?" 

"Shhh." 

But he couldn't help it, cries began spilling from his lips. Every thrust was filled with a controlled power that let him know he was being marked and owned. The measured pace was maddening, only increasing his desire and need. He tried thrusting his hips backwards, only to have them firmly gripped and stilled. "Patience," came the whisper at his ear. "I want this to last." 

"I can't." 

"You can and will." 

Sweat was dripping down his body, soaking his silk. He was chilled where he was pressed to glass. The wet silk rubbed against his skin, the slightest movement causing a flood of pleasure as it dragged over his hardened nipples. Long moans fells from his mouth as he tilted his head back against Asami's shoulder, seeking more sensation. He needed to touch himself. 

He started to pull his hands from the glass, but found them trapped in Asami's grip. "Uh-uh. I'll take care of you." 

The words left him stunned. He couldn't mean that. He only meant the sex. Oh God he couldn't mean that. 

"Asami?" 

Asami said nothing, just continued his slow fuck, but Feilong could feel his breaths coming hard and fast. They were both on the edge of losing control. Asami's fingers traced lightly along his thighs, then along the length of his shaft. His hips bucked. "Oh God, please." They circled his weeping head. He whimpered. The touch was barely there; it was maddening. "More. Please. More." But the teasing just continued. 

He was no longer aware of anything but sensation. He only knew what touched his skin: the glass, the silk, Asami's hair brushing his ear, Asami's lips and teeth on his neck, Asami's hand gripping his. The heat of Asami's body against his back. Asami's cock slowly pistoning in and out of him. Asami's fingers on his shaft. 

Asami never even had to grasp him; the touch of those fingers built him up until he spilled across the window and carpet and hand, his back arching as he cried out, Asami's hand finally closing about him and squeezing him, pulling every drop of pleasure from him. He felt a flood of warmth within, Asami's cock twitching as he came inside Feilong, his body crushed against the glass by the force of it. 

His legs gave out. Only Asami's grip at his waist kept him from falling. They leaned against the window, breaths coating the glass as they slowed. Those were the only sounds in the room. 

Feilong didn't know what to say. He felt completely awkward. He'd been taken like a woman by his worst enemy, and he'd loved it. He craved more. And not just more of the physical. But he knew this was nothing to Asami, that Asami felt no emotions because they only got in the way. Asami might not even want it to happen again. 

He cursed himself. He was 28. He'd had any number of affairs. Why did this simple bout of sex leave him feeling so emotionally raw? 

He felt Asami stir against his back. 

"Feilong. Take Baishe. Take it and join with me. The whole Asian weapons market can be under our control." 

He didn't know what he'd expected. Not words of love. But not words of business either. He laughed at himself. Of course, to Asami they'd just consummated a contract. He just didn't expect that it would hurt so much. He needed a moment. He needed to pull himself together. 

He gathered his strength mentally, then began doing it physically. He managed somehow, to stand, and wobbled to the toilet to clean himself, using the time to think furiously. Was an alliance such a bad idea? As long as Asami got rid of Yan for him, did anything else matter? The only question was what to do about Asami. _To kill, or not to kill, that was the question._ He was going to leave himself open to both options. 

He stared at himself in the washroom mirror. Still so young, so naïve in some ways. He reached a hand out as if to touch his face, recalling himself as his fingertips only met cold glass. He sighed, then carefully worked at blanking all emotion from his eyes. When he felt ready, he opened the door. 

He returned to the main room of the suite, not looking at all as if he'd been fucked to within an inch of his life. Asami had been in the shower and stepped out wearing a bathrobe, damp hair still covered by a towel. He headed for the minibar. 

"Would you like a drink, Feilong?" 

A drink would be a very good idea. "Bourbon, please." 

Feilong sank down onto the couch, slowly and carefully. He was playing at being unaffected by what had happened, but his body was unlikely to let him forget for days. 

Asami approached and handed him one of the two glasses he carried, then sat at the other end of the couch, turned slightly to face him. 

"You didn't answer me earlier." 

"My mind was on other things." 

"Was it? Nothing foolish, I hope. Men like us shouldn't waste our time on foolish thoughts." Asami watched him as he spoke. 

Feilong's heart felt a pang, but his face remained carefully blank. "Not foolish. Confused, perhaps. You want to form an alliance with me. Explain what and why." 

Asami put his glass down and reached for his cigarettes. He offered the pack to Feilong, who shook his head. "I don't smoke tobacco." 

Asami stared at him as he lit his cigarette then inhaled deeply, visibly relaxing as the smoke gave him a hit of nicotine. "Opium then? Hashish? I don't care if people use drugs, how could I? But it's detrimental in a business partner." 

Feilong shrugged. "Recreational hash use is hardly harmful. I would never be so foolish as to indulge in opium. I've seen its effects on too many. My body must be kept in prime condition." 

Asami smirked. "And you're doing a fine job of it so far." 

Feilong rolled his eyes. "Get to the point. What? Why?" 

Asami took another drag on his cigarette. "Why should be obvious. Money and power. You have them. I have them. We both want more. Together, we could get it. Ours are the most reliable arms routes as it now stands, in our respective countries. Combined, we would hold the best routes from western Asia to Japan and into the United States. Your family holds alliances with the Russian mafia, don't they?" 

Feilong wondered where this man got his information. "We have been known to work with the Arbatovs from time to time." 

Asami leaned forward. "I've heard one of them has a distinct preference for you. You could build on this, control it. By the time we were done, we would control all of Asia." 

Feilong liked the sound of that. Even if the thought of working with Mikhail irked him to no end. But his questions weren't done. 

"Why me? Why not my family? Why not Yantsuui?" 

Asami waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Please. Your brother hasn't half your intelligence or finesse. With him at the helm, Baishe would degenerate into a group of street thugs. He has no talent for building, for seeing the future. Perhaps because he's too obsessed with other things, eh baby brother?" 

Feilong's angry stare at this intrusive suggestion was only met by amused eyes. 

"Your father," Asami conceded, "is a wise man. But let's face it, Feilong. He hasn't much time left and can no longer run the organization. He needs one of his sons to do it. The obvious choice is you." 

_And so we come to it._ "Then what's to be done about Yantsuui? As much as I would like to kill him, the moment I do, my father would strip me of my name and title. Someone else must do it." 

Asami shrugged. "Or you could kill your father." 

Feilong was at his throat in an instant, fingers wrapped around that powerful neck, nails biting into skin. "Never suggest that again. Do you understand?" 

He squeezed slightly. Asami's eyes, strangely, held no fear. They simply stared him down, daring him to go further. He should kill him now and be done with it. 

He suddenly felt the barrel of the gun pressed against his stomach. Ah, a standoff. His hands loosened. "Never speak of my father that way. Should I find out you're plotting such a thing, I'll kill you." 

Asami's grip on the gun loosened. He laid it in his lap. "Fair enough. I have no quarrel with your father. It was merely an option." He held his hand up to forestall any further outbursts. "One we'll forget about. For now, let's discuss what should be done about your brother." 

"And about Tou." 

"I cannot kill him. I owe him my duty." 

Feilong smiled. "Perhaps, then, we could exchange favors." 

Asami's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps." 

They got down to business. 

\-- 

The plan was simple. Approach Feilong's father with the details already worked out, asking for his approval. They knew he'd see the wisdom in it and agree. Yantsuui would of course lose it. Asami would be waiting for it. He'd been warned to protect Liu senior. Feilong planned to keep himself between his father and Yantsuui at all times. His father would see that Yan was not fit for the leadership of Baishe and that Feilong was. There'd be the plausible excuse that Yantsuui was unstable and had to be eliminated. This would work. 

Only they underestimated Yantsuui's cunning. 

\-- 

Feilong and Asami approached the Liu household four days later. They'd made contact with select contingents of the foreign mafia housed throughout Hong Kong. Most were interested, though some were not. The ones that were tended to be the older houses, those that were capable of a long-term outlook. The merits of Feilong's and Asami's alliance were obvious to them. 

The two men were high and confident from their successes. It may have blinded them. 

When they entered the drawing room to see Liu senior, they found themselves taken prisoner by some of the men of Baishe, guns drawn. The other men in the room looked uneasy, unsure what to do. Their eyes were on Feilong and his father. Yantsuui stood by his father's side, triumphant. 

"You see Father? It's just as I said. Feilong has betrayed you with this Japanese. They've already made deals behind your back across Hong Kong. They were coming here today to kill you." 

"NO!" Feilong struggled but couldn't break free. "Father, that's a lie! We came here today to offer this plan for your approval. I wish you to see what I, what we can accomplish through talk and negotiation. But it's nothing without you behind it. Will you listen to us? Will you let us explain?" 

Yantsuui took an angry step forward. "Explain what? How your plan was developed in bed with this man? How you've been letting him use you and our family in more ways than one? Do you want to explain the stiff way you have of moving this morning, Feilong? Please do." 

Feilong was beyond angry. "You know _nothing_. You sit here and make plans to dominate Hong Kong through violence and force. Those are all well and good in their place, but should only be used as a last resort." 

He turned to the man in the wheelchair. "Father, Yan is making enemies of everyone we should be using as allies. He is isolating our family. People no longer want to do business with him. Look at him. He's irrational. Asami and I have come up with a plan by which all those allied with us make money and gain power. And our house at the head of this organization stands to benefit most. All with a minimum of bloodshed. Will you listen to us?" 

Yantsuui broke in. "We'll do no such thing!" 

Liu senior finally spoke, softly yet carrying a weight that quieted everyone. "Fei. You have long been a son to me that I have been proud of. When Yan brought me this news of your betrayal –" 

"It's not!" 

Liu held up his hand. "When he brought me this news, I thought I should wait and see. To see if you would come to me in the end to talk. You have done this today, and now I'll listen." 

"Father, you can't be serious. Don't listen to them. They intend to kill you." 

"Liar! I love you Father. I would die to save your life." 

Liu spoke, his voice commanding obedience. "Yan you _will_ be quiet. Feilong, no more of your outbursts. You will speak of this plan and nothing more. Tell me what you have done." 

Feilong glanced at Asami, who'd said nothing during all of this. He stood there, tense but cool. His eyes held confidence. Feilong drew strength from that. 

He presented the plan as if speaking in the board room, laying out the details clearly and concisely, the routes, the families who were in tentative agreement, the terms. All the while he kept his eyes on his father. He saw light growing in those eyes, understanding, approval. His voice grew stronger, more confident. By the time he'd finished, he knew he'd won. 

Yantsuui broke into his thoughts. "That's preposterous. It would never work. All those families working together without betrayal? It's only a matter of time before each one would want to be at the helm." 

Asami spoke for the first time since entering the room. "You're right, and yet you're wrong, Liu Yantsuui. The families who are interested in this are mostly old and established ones. Their bottom line is, what gives them more? Forging this alliance or remaining apart from it? And if they forge it, do you think it's in their best interest to destroy it or see that it remains healthy and stable? Most will want to preserve it, and therein lies the solution to any upstart who wishes to change the balance of power and take over. The weight of all the others will squash him. One family may fight another, but one would be foolish to stand against the power we've gathered." 

Asami turned to Liu senior. "Liu-daren. This is no pipe dream. I've watched your son the past few days. I've seen the others fall to his charisma and vision. Even the Arbatovs have expressed a serious desire to be a part of this, and you know how insular they are." 

Liu's eyes twinkled as he glanced at his blushing son. "I have a fair idea of what persuaded them." Then Liu's eyes turned colder as they once again focused on his son's partner. "But what of you, Asami? What of your alliance with my old friend Tou?" 

Asami answered honestly. "For me, that's separate business. Once it's over and done with I don't want anymore contact with him. But that's not what you're asking, is it? Let's be open then. Feilong knows. He knew before he came to see me. He doesn't care." 

For the first time that day, Liu's face was shocked. "Feilong?" 

Feilong shook off the hold of the men around him and stepped forward. "It's true. As far as I'm concerned I have no father but you, whom I love above all things." 

"What are you saying?" Understanding was dawning on Yan's face. "You're not even a Liu? Father, is this true? Then how can you listen to him? He's a peasant, a bastard, not even of our blood. I should have known. You're a whore, like your mother was." 

"Silence! Yan, I've heard enough from you. Blood tie or not, Feilong is my son, and one I am proud of. His plan is a good one. I've heard enough from him too, and approve of this alliance. Feilong, you will run it in my name." 

Feilong was elated. He didn't even notice that his father had approved the plan. He only heard the words _blood tie or not, Feilong is my son, and one I am proud of_. He once again had his father's approval. It was all thanks to Asami and what they'd been building between them the past few days. He turned with a smile and stretched his hands out to Asami, only to be shoved to the floor by him. 

"Get down!" 

Asami crouched over him. Gunshots rang out around the room, deafening him. _No. No, dammit. Not again._ He'd forgotten. In his elation, he'd forgotten. He tried to clear his head. Asami fell, blood blossoming from bullet wounds across his chest. Feilong cursed himself while trying to figure out what was happening. He turned his head and what he saw was a scene from his worst nightmares. 

His father lay slumped in his wheelchair, half his head shot away, one of his men kneeling by him trying with shaking hands to put his brain back into his skull. Yan lay crumpled on the floor, bleeding but not yet dead, writhing in pain. Yan's men were down, either dead or dying. Only three of the others remained standing. 

He raged at all this useless bloodshed and still lying there he grabbed Asami's gun and fired shot after shot into Yan's body until the clip was empty and his brother dead. 

One of the surviving men cautiously approached. "Feilong-sama?" 

"Get an ambulance!" 

Asami stirred above him, trying to speak. Feilong sat up so he might hold him better. Wasn't this ironic? Had Asami felt this overwhelming despair that time? The gold-brown eyes opened and tried to focus on him. "I'm sorry, Feilong. We were so close. I'm sorry." He took one shuddering breath and was still. 

Feilong felt hot tears on his hands. He was crying for this man, for his enemy, this person he'd hated for years and blamed for his failures, this person who'd given his life for him. "No, I'm sorry. I was wrong about you. I'll fix it. I'll fix it. I'll go back. We'll get it right." His men gently lifted him from the body, trying to check him for injuries. He angrily brushed their hands off. His own hands frantically searched for the watch in his pockets. He sighed as he found it. 

He reset it, earlier. He needed more time. That was all there was to it. He just needed more time. Then he'd get it right. He had to. He pressed the button. 

~~~ 

He tried again. And again. Every time, failing. Every time, losing his father and brother and Asami one way or another. It didn't matter who he killed, who he fucked, what he tried, nothing ever really changed. 

After a while he was just going through the motions. His mind was slowly fracturing under the pressure. The day came when he let events unroll just as they had the first time because he no longer had the will to do anything differently. As he fell, Tou's bullet striking above his heart, he wondered if it was all some practical joke on him. If some gods out there decided to create a new Job and have fun applying pressure until he cracked. 

He giggled as he pressed the gun to Asami's stomach. "I'll never forgive you," he said. But the words weren't meant for Asami. They were meant for the gods that brought him to this point. Who could fight them? And as he finally gave up, he realized that he'd also finally absolved himself from the guilt he'd let rule him for all those years. It was too bad he was too tired to care anymore. He slipped into unconsciousness. 

~~~ 

tbc 


	3. Part 3 (End)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami x Aki fans finally get something out of this...
> 
> ~~~~~~~

Seven years later in Tokyo, Feilong found himself confronted with a young Takaba Akihito. He no longer hated the boy. What was the point of that? If Feilong wasn't to blame for being swept along by destiny, it surely wasn't Takaba's fault. Nonetheless he went through the expected motions, just as he had every day for the past seven years. But when the time came to rape Takaba and he saw those defiant tears beneath him on the couch, something in him just couldn't continue. It reminded him too much of the last time. 

_Fuck it. If it's all going to happen anyway, at least when it does I can know that there are some things I'll no longer do. Destiny can't make me rape anyone._

He called one of his guards in. "Take him to the cell in the basement. Chain him there."

The guard hauled the naked boy off the couch. "Hey! What about my clothes? At least give me my clothes back you pervert!"

Feilong stared at the persistent boy. He was naked before his enemy, but acted like he was silk-clad prince. Where did he get that indomitable will? He just didn't know the truth about life yet, that you're fucked no matter what you do. "No. You'll get no food, nor clothes, until you tell me what I want to know." 

Takaba was still swearing when he was half carried out the door.

Feilong shook his head at the show of defiance. He'd broken Takaba once, but what it had taken.... He would never pay that price again. He'd lost a lot, but he hadn't yet lost his soul. 

Perhaps they could come to a compromise, and fate would be satisfied. Yes, tomorrow, after a night of cold and hunger, he'd feed and clothe him and try persuasion. Maybe just once, this little change would work.

He leaned back on his sofa, inhaling the last bit of smoke from the hash in his pipe. All of it felt like a dream now. Or a nightmare.

He remembered the hotel room, Asami taking him. It had been the only timeline in which he'd truly come close to his goal. And yet the emptiness of the act hurt so that he couldn't go through it again. 

His mind wandered through all the memories. All those attempts to change history. He hadn't let himself think of them in years. He still carried the watch but had no desire to use it. If only he had the guts to face Asami again in that room overlooking Hong Kong.

He heard shouting from below, a cry. What now? Didn't they know better than to disturb him? He tucked his feet into some slippers, closed his robe, and followed the sounds. As he descended, he realized it must be Takaba crying out. It was coming from the cells. His heart began pounding. This could _not_ be happening. He wanted the boy alive and well this time. He raced down the last flight.

He was furious at the sight that met his eyes. Three of his men had Takaba spread across a bench, one on the verge of violating him. It sickened him. He grabbed the closest and threw him against the wall.

"How _dare_ you? How _dare_ you disobey me?"

"Feilong-laoban? We know you raped him. We thought only to have some fun too."

"You know? You KNOW? You know nothing. I said only to bring him to this cell and leave him. How dare you take liberties with my prisoner?"

"How dare _you_ take liberties with what is mine?"

The men turned as one. Asami stood there with his gun drawn. Feilong despaired as he felt the chains of destiny wrapping around him yet again.

His men acted instinctively. One grabbed Takaba and put a gun to his head. "Drop the gun, Asami!"

Feilong couldn't believe this. It had to stop. He didn't care if it was futile. He had to try. "No, don't! Put down your weapons!"

But it did no good. Asami's gun didn't waver. He fired. A bullet hole appeared in the forehead of the man holding Takaba. Feilong watched in horror as the man's hand convulsed and sent a bullet into Takaba's head. He heard Asami cry out something as Takaba fell, leaving a smear of red on the wall behind him. The other gunman lifted his pistol to shoot Asami and Feilong threw himself forward. "No!" The shot caught him in the left side of the chest. _Like last time_ , he thought, only this time it was lower and more deadly.

 _I can't fucking believe this. Just because I tried to be nice. One little change..._

He slowly crumpled to the floor. He rolled onto his back, not really hearing the cries around him. He stared at the ceiling. They really should repaint it. How drab. 

He was vaguely aware of his men falling around him. Like autumn leaves. Stained red in the throes of death. 

He thought about reaching for the watch. He knew that he was dying. But he made no move for it. He was through with trying to change things. Fate only worked with the people it had, and except for him, they never changed.

A shadow fell across him. Asami. He crouched. His voice was rough with emotion. "Why, Feilong? What did he ever do to you?"

Feilong started to laugh, but the blood in his lungs made him choke instead. He tried to speak, and through force of will, managed. "Nothing. He had done nothing. I was trying to return the favor."

Asami stared at him, puzzled.

Feilong turned his head to look at him and saw all the Asami's he'd come to know. The ones who'd died for him, the ones he'd become partners with, the one he'd made love to, if only in his own mind. And his enemy. And finally this one, the one who loved Takaba. It shook him, seeing love there for someone else. 

All those Asami's. Different. But they all had some things in common. Strength. Confidence. Duty. Aggression. Loyalty. Stubbornness. Indomitability. His core character, never changing.

Feilong blinked. He would have started laughing if it hadn't hurt so. Destiny won't let people change? Well then, Destiny was going to regret _that_ little rule. It was about to get fucked by the best of them. 

A pain shot through his lungs. He had to act fast. He had to ask this man, his enemy of old, for help. And yet somehow it felt natural. Because that's what you do with friends. "Pocket. My pocket."

Asami leaned forward and rummaged in his pockets. He pulled out the watch. "This? This is what you want?"

Feilong nodded slightly. "Set the time back an hour and press the button on top. Use it to save us. Promise me..." He coughed and spit blood. "My father... Promise me...."

Asami stared at him, disbelief in his eyes.

"Please. A last request from an old... enemy."

Asami hesitated, then nodded.

Feilong smiled. He had won. He slid into oblivion.

 

\--

 

Asami crouched at Feilong's side, staring at the body in pity, wondering just what he'd promised. Feilong had had such potential. But because of a simple twist of fate, he had ended up here, dead like this. Dead, like Akihito. 

Asami's heart twisted painfully. This was why he'd always pushed emotion away. It was deadly. Proof lay before him. He didn't want to think about what lay behind him. But nonetheless, he did.

The loss hurt badly. It had shaken him, seeing Akihito fall, helpless to prevent it. And Feilong. He didn't understand why Feilong had done it. He hadn't seen him in years. The last time though, Feilong had sworn revenge. 

But there had been no malice in him just now. He'd only seen a desperate attempt to prevent what had happened. And at the end, a complete and total trust in Asami. Whatever had caused this change? What brought him to this?

Whatever it was, the sight of the two of them lying dead at his feet was making him feel, which was something he didn't desire because it hurt all too much. He didn't understand this either. He really hadn't known them all that well. Why did it feel like all three had been to hell and back again together? Like they were puppets dancing at the whims of gods, and always in the same show day after day.

He looked at the watch in his hand. And what was this all about? He opened it but saw nothing but watch parts. Not a bomb, not a transmitter, just a watch. He shrugged, then prepared to do as Feilong requested. 

A breeze blew down the hall. He raised his head. He thought he smelled flowers. The building seemed strangely empty, with one exception.

The exception walked up and crouched down beside Asami. An old man, quite old, around 80 from the looks of it. He looked familiar, but Asami couldn't place him. The man stared down with sad eyes.

"I was hoping he'd succeed where I'd failed. I thought maybe it was me, that I wasn't smart enough to figure it out."

Asami had no idea what he was talking about. "Do I know you?"

The man looked up, tears filling his brown eyes. "No. No, you don't Ryuichi. You never did. No matter what I tried. It made no difference. You never knew me."

Asami never knew fear, and yet something about this old man scared him. "I don't know what you're talking about. How could I know you if we've never met?"

The man smiled sadly and shook his head. "Would you like to save them? I honestly don't know if anything could help anymore. He and I, we both changed, yet nothing changed around us. But would you like to try? He believed in you, at the end. Would you save them if you could?"

Asami was growing angry at this cryptic conversation. "Of course I would have saved them if I could have. What kind of question is that? I never shed blood unless it's necessary, and these two deaths were as unnecessary as they come."

The eyes that looked at him were still sad, the voice so very soft. "Is that the only reason?"

Asami tried to deny it, but something about the gaze demanded honesty, as if he owed it more than he could ever hope to repay. "No. My life... my life seems to have been waiting for this moment, when the three of us met. It sounds stupid. I can't explain it. Their loss just feels... immeasurable. I would change it if I could.

The old man nodded.

"Then let me tell you a story. No, let me tell you two stories. Listen and learn."

The building around them remained quiet. Nothing moved through it; even the very air was still. The old man sat back against the wall next to Feilong's body, and began to talk. He told Asami of the boy and the young man who had done their damnedest to set things straight, of all their attempts to right wrongs, of all their failures. 

He told of Akihito, at first driven by a need for revenge, then a need for affection returned, for love. Always striving to be what Asami needed to make him finally love someone, always falling short. He spoke of two weeks in Hong Kong, Akihito's final attempt gone seriously awry, the watch forgotten in his bag in Tokyo, left with friends. Their deaths, his death, seen by the old man, who decided that to prevent this, he had to pass the watch on to another, someone whose pain was at the root of it all.

Then the old man spoke of Feilong, an enemy who had hated Asami bitterly. Asami heard of Feilong's need for revenge, but more than that, deeper than that, a need to help those he cared for. A need to preserve his honor, to right what was wrong. And an understanding and respect and affection that developed for his enemy that made the term unfitting for what was between them. 

The gentle voice continued, describing Feilong's attempts to right all of this, for his father, himself, and finally for Asami, attempts that slowly chipped away at him with each failure, to the point where he was ready to give up and die. But instead he fought even at the end, finally discovering his trump card, reaching out to one he had hated in the past, one he now put his trust in. Just as Akihito had reached out to him.

Both had come to know him. Both had come to care for him. Both had died for it.

Asami listened, aghast at what he was hearing. To fight for so long, for nothing. To fight so hard for themselves, and for him. Both of them. And they changed nothing.

Finally, the old man told Asami the beginning. How he'd come across a pair of watches lying in the trash, how he'd picked them up and tried to clean them, and discovered by accident what happened when they were used. If used together they duplicate a person. One becomes two, one who spends time, one who pays for it. One of the watches moves with the traveler, sending him back into his younger self. The other of the pair extracts the payment in years from its bearer.

Asami looked at him in horror, realization dawning. "How old are you?"

The old man smiled. "Me? I was born long after you. Only I've experienced far more years than that. First my own experiments, then Feilong's. I took it upon myself to pay for both."

Asami didn't want to believe it, but he knew that compassion and he knew those eyes. He reached his hand out. "Akihito?"

The old man shook his head. "Not anymore. Something more, something less. Not quite one person, and not quite human. I carry all of Feilong's pain and memories within me as well, as I paid his price for him." 

"Why?"

"Because while one of us hurts we all will, because we all deserved a little happiness, and I was willing to bear the burden."

He pulled a watch out of his pocket and held it out to Asami. "But I can't carry the burden for all three of us. This body is about used up. You're our last hope Ryuichi. It's why Feilong gave you the watch. He trusted you. I trust you. We've known no one with your obstinacy, your determination, your arrogance. You don't accept failure. We're putting a hell of a burden on you but if anyone can carry it you can. Besides, you owe us, and we know your honor demands that you pay all debts."

The old man talked about how to use the watches, but Asami's mind was too stunned to take it all in. He was reeling with what he'd heard. Forget the time travel. Akihito had gone through all this so that they could be happy? "But why?"

He looked up only to see the old man fading into nothingness, a sad smile on his face. "Love, of course. I love you, Ryuichi."

"Wait. Wait! I don't know enough. Don't leave yet."

But it was too late. Akihito was gone. For the second time that day, he was gone. But Akihito's words had reached something deep inside him.

Asami stood over the body of his former foe. Former, not because he was dead, but because Asami now understood him. He glanced across the hall to see Akihito's young body, now cold. He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. 

His fists clenched around the watches. He would do this. Failure wasn't a word he recognized. He refused to accept the notion.

First he would bury the dead. And then he would plan. Those two, they were helpless without him. They had no idea how to plan a battle. Fate wouldn't change for the average man. He sneered. He was anything but average. 

He would go back, early, to when he was 20. He knew where to get money, all the stocks to play, all the connections to cultivate, all the advantageous places to be. By the time he hit Hong Kong eight years later, it would think he was a typhoon. He would have it all. He would set it right. No matter how many attempts it took. He would rip at Fate's threads until they broke and let themselves be retied the way he wanted them.

Akihito and Feilong had trusted him with their lives. He would not let them down.

 

~~~

 

"Feilong. I need to speak with you. Can you come in here? And close the door behind you."

Feilong entered the study, curious. He had noticed that his father had been putting some plan into motion, but he didn't understand what from the little information he'd gathered.

Liu turned his wheelchair about to face the couch, then gestured towards it. "Sit down. It's about your brother. You've noticed that he's been gone the past few days?"

Feilong sat forward on the couch and nodded. Of course he'd noticed. The burden of running Baishe had fallen upon his shoulders and he'd reveled in it. He almost wished – no, that was unworthy of him.

"A doctor approached me a few weeks ago. He expressed concerns about things he noticed in Yantsuui's behavior. Signs of a particular neural degeneration, he said. I didn't believe him, but thought to be safest that it should be checked out. And he was correct. He showed me the test results himself. The MRIs clearly showed damage."

Liu wheeled close to Feilong and took his hand. "I'm afraid that your brother will be needing special care for the rest of his life. And his life may not last long, nor end easily. He should not live here, because I'm told his potential for violence will steadily increase as time passes. He'll be given the best of care. And we'll visit him of course. But his mind will gradually sink into paranoia and fantasy. Even now he thinks it's a lie and a plot to dispose of him." Liu shook his head. "He tried to kill me Feilong, but the doctors were alert and prevented it."

Feilong's eyes filled with tears. He was relieved, yet saddened. He'd noticed increasing irregularities in Yantsuui's behavior. This must explain them. He was relieved to hear it was a physical failing and not a moral one. Poor Yan. To be locked away for the rest of his short life.

But that meant...

"But Baishe, Father? What of it?"

Liu smiled. "You've shown me some of your abilities these past few days. Perhaps I just needed to trust you and give you more responsibilities. I'm proud of you, my son. _You_ will be leading Baishe into the next century."

Feilong's heart leapt. To be granted all that he had desired, in a matter of minutes. It was as if an angel was watching over him. He sobered, thinking of his brother. He felt bad for Yantsuui, but vowed he'd always take care of him. The way his father cared for him.

He took his father's hands. "I will do my best to never let you down."

The older man smiled fondly. "I know that. I'm lucky to have you for a son. Now, we should discuss the direction we want to take Baishe over the next generation."

 

~~~

 

Seven years later, Feilong stood inside the same room, looking out into his garden. The sun outside the window was at odds with the cold inside the house. His father lay still on the bed upstairs, having finally lost his bout with cancer. Now he was the last Liu, Yantsuui having taken his own life three years before. He said a brief prayer for the souls of both of them.

He reflected upon those seven years. They had been the best of his life. He had brought all the underground families of Hong Kong together into one association, headed by Baishe. And Asami. The man had come into Hong Kong at a time when things were in flux, and with his money and power had helped him smooth the way to the organization they were today. Even if he was a prick, Feilong knew he could count on the man as a friend and ally.

They now had ties throughout the world, from the Cali Cartel of the Americas to the Amorosos of Italy to the Arbatovs of Russia. The most powerful organizations of the world were connected to Asia through them, and vice versa.

But that wasn't what had made him happiest. He smiled as he heard a knock at the door, and turned as Tao slipped in. He hadn't ordered tea, but trust Tao to know when he needed it. Tao set the tray down, then approached and put his arms around Feilong's waist. "Fei-sama. I'm so sorry about your father. I know you loved him very much. I loved him too."

Feilong held the boy and kissed the top of his head. "He loved you as well, Tao. He considered you to be a grandson. That's something that perhaps we should consider making reality, in his honor. What would you think of that?"

Tao stared upward in shock, a growing happiness shining through the tears in his eyes. "Oh yes, Fei-sama. Please. Will you?" Tao suddenly jumped back, looking guilty. "I'm sorry Fei-sama. It's wrong to be happy today."

Feilong ruffled Tao's hair. "Nonsense. Father would have been pleased that something positive came from his death. It would be a good thing to cheer everyone, don't you think?"

Tao hesitated, then smiled shyly. "Then may I go tell everyone? May I please?" 

Feilong smiled and nodded, and Tao ran to the door. He slammed into the man coming into the room. 

"Mr. Arbatov!" Feilong held back laughter at the sight of Tao's face, torn between excitement and a desire to insult Mikhail. Excitement won. "I'm... I'm going to be a Liu! Me. _I_ am." Tao's mouth clamped shut, consternation on his face at having shown such a face to his nemesis. "You! You take care of Fei-sama, just this once!" Tao's voice faded as he ran out and down the hallway.

Mikhail stared after him. "What the...? Shouldn't you make him tone that down, considering what has happened today?"

Feilong had turned back to staring out the window. "A little happiness never hurt anyone. This is the way Father would have wanted it."

And then Mikhail was behind him, arms around his waist, a warm cradle he wanted to sink into. "And you Fei. How are you holding up?"

Feilong turned to face him and laid his head upon his shoulder. "Oh Misha. I'll miss him so. I already do."

"We all will. He was a wise man and a good leader."

"And the best father a man could ask for."

"Yes, that's obvious, from the son he raised."

"You know, at times when I was growing up, I never even thought he saw me. But that all changed when Yan had to be put away at that hospital. Once it was just the two of us, we became so close. Not just father and son but the best of friends. It was all I'd ever wished for. And now it's gone."

Feilong's tears began staining the suit of the man holding him, his sobs growing in intensity while the Russian murmured reassurances. Eventually the crying slowed, then stilled. 

"I love that about you, Fei."

Feilong felt like falling asleep in the comfort of those arms. The last few days had been so difficult. This felt so good. But he answered. "And what is that, Misha?" 

The voice was tender. "In a business that's full of men who are so cold, you feel so deeply. And give so freely of it. I've never known someone as open and generous with his emotions as you."

Feilong tightened his arms about the other in response.

They stood by the window, silent, at complete ease with each other.

Mikhail eventually pulled back slightly. "Can you talk about business at all today? One of my men came across something curious."

Feilong stepped back, stronger than when he'd entered the room. He walked to the tea tray, hoping the pot was still a little warm. It still felt hot to the touch, so he poured some, the fragrance filling the room with the scent of jasmine. He offered a cup to Mikhail.

"This scent always reminds me of you."

"Stop flirting. What is this news of yours?"

"Ah, yes." Mikhail pulled an MO from his pocket. "It appears to be a list of all of Asami's contacts and agents in this area."

Feilong took it and looked at it. "Really? How could he be so careless?" 

He tossed the disk onto the table and grinned. "I'll not let him hear the end of this one. First I'll tease him a bit, tell him that it's floating around Hong Kong. Maybe mention that I heard some reporters might have found a copy. What's the name of that photographer he's been chasing? Mr. Perfect could stand a little trouble in paradise. How is that he always gets his way, anyway? It's like he always knows what's going to happen."

Mikhail laughed. "Maybe he has some magic about him. But I bet he didn't know this was going to happen."

He snatched Feilong's tea from him and sent him tumbling back onto the couch. "Let's forget death for a little while, Feilong. Let's celebrate life."

Feilong looked up into the clear blue eyes of his lover. How had he been so lucky in his life? Everything he could have asked for had come his way. He pitied the poor souls whom fate despised. 

Mikhail's eyes turned curious. "Whatever are you thinking about?"

Feilong smiled. "About how very lucky my life has been. You know, even if I could, I wouldn't change a thing."

 

\--

 

Asami felt something click into place. He'd become so accustomed to the flow of time that he knew by the feel of things if they were going the way he wanted. Time was an instrument, one he now played like a master. _It must be Feilong_ , he mused. _I'll have to call him. But later._

For now, he had another appointment. The limo pulled to a stop. He waited. The door opened. A boy was tossed inside. Nothing like a bishounen delivery service. "Right on time, Akihito."

"Asami, you son of a bitch. You can't call ahead like a normal person, can you? Always ordering people about and kidnapping them. Just once I'd –"

The rest of the words were cut off by a searing kiss. One that continued for minutes. Until Akihito stopped struggling and twisted his arms around Asami's neck and started kissing back for all he was worth.

"That's better. I always took you for a spontaneous guy. Don't you like surprise dates?"

"No."

"Really?" Asami's long fingers stroked down across the bulge in Akihito's jeans. "This says you do."

"Well I guess you just don't know anything about me!"

Asami paused for a moment, surprised. He examined the young face and large eyes glaring at him, so different from the sad, tired eyes of lifetimes ago, eyes he vowed never to allow to come into being. "Akihito, you don't think I know you?"

Akihito's eyebrows went up. "Well, no. We just have sex a lot. I guess you know that about me. But we don't ever do much else, or talk about anything else." His brow creased; he was clearly perplexed. "Why this concern all of a sudden?"

Asami sat back, pulling Akihito against his chest. He felt the currents swirling around him, currents he'd long since learned to pay attention to. Something was telling him this time was the one, this was where he played for keeps. "It's just something someone said to me once. Perhaps it's time I listened."

Akihito stared at him. "Who are you and what have you done with Asami? You're not the guy I know."

"No, I don't suppose I am. Let's change that, you and I."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Akihito peered at him. "And later you'll say you were kidding?"

Asami ran his hand through Akihito's hair. "No joke. This is for real. I want to get to know you better. Life's too short to waste time." He laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing." All those attempts, all he learned, all the times he fought and revised and returned... He'd rarely let himself come this far forward in time. Seven years was too long to waste if he had to go back to the beginning. This, this now, this boy, this was his reward. He'd spent a lot of time thinking about what he felt, what he could feel. And now, after so long, it threatened to overwhelm him. "Akihito..."

"What? You're being weird today." 

He was, and he managed to center himself a little. That had always been so easy, except when here, with him, where his center shifted. Akihito wasn't yet ready for those words. But he would be, and when he was, well, this time he'd hear them. Just not quite yet.

For now he'd content himself with saying things through actions. Maybe Akihito would catch on. He doubted it. He was blind to the point of obtuseness where their relationship was concerned. But for now it would be fun trying to make him see. He pushed his young lover back onto the leather seats and followed him down, stifling his protests with his lips and hands.

So long, he'd waited so long for all of this. Now it was time.

 

\--

 

Later that night, a sated Akihito asleep in his bed, Asami took the watch and placed it in his safe. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he knew he no longer had need of it. Everything was as he wanted it to be. But of course, he'd keep the watch as insurance. Only a fool would throw such a weapon away with someone around as accident prone as Akihito. It wouldn't do to lose him now.

He felt the familiar breeze. He turned and saw himself slowly approaching. The years had taken their toll. He looked old, very, very old.

"It's finally right, isn't it?"

The elderly man nodded. "I think so. We did it. Feilong, his father, his son, his lover, you, Akihito. All of them. We made it work for all of them. What a pain in the ass that was. Especially buying off that entire hospital and staff in China."

Asami laughed. "I'm still supplying the hospital director with 12 cases of our daiginjou a year. Even now I can't believe we had to buy a whole brewery five years in advance just to seal the deal. Just another of the many ridiculous pieces we had to put in place." 

He gestured at the leather sofa, but the old man was already easing down onto it. It was, after all, his home too. "But it was all worth it. Feilong never would have been happy with Yantsuui's blood on his hands. It was part of the reason he failed. He never realized until the end that he needed someone else to shoulder some of the burden."

He walked to his bar and got out a couple of highball glasses. "It was the same thing with Akihito. He kept trying to become what I wanted, only to fail each time because _I_ was the one who had to change, not him. And yet because of his generosity, the events began that let us all finally come to where we are today." 

He paused while putting some ice in the glasses. "You know, I think we all had to understand and help one another a little better before any of this would work. Akihito saw all of us die within a day of each other in Hong Kong. He'd realized he couldn't make a difference but thought that perhaps if Feilong resolved his issues something might work out, and so went back and gave him the watch. Even though Feilong had killed his twin the night before."

He shook his head. "I don’t think I'll ever be able to comprehend the spirit of someone who is capable of such an act of selflessness. But I can understand that it's why he can love me, so I won't question it too deeply."

He went back to getting their drinks. "And then there was Feilong. He started out with only the desire to fix his own and his father's life, not trusting or caring about anyone else. But by the time he died that day in Tokyo, he'd not only tried to save Akihito but me as well and gave his life for us. At that moment I think he realized how closely we were tied and that he could trust me, and so the watch came to me. If he hadn't made that sacrifice, I don't think I would have understood. When I'd heard what they'd gone through, all they'd done, then saw that...." He fell silent and reached for the bottle of scotch.

Heavy coughing made him look up. His older self had lit a cigarette and was choking on some smoke. "You know, these things will be the death of me."

That made Asami laugh as he poured a liberal amount of scotch over the ice. "Thank God we have a sense of humor about all of this. You'd have been hell to live with otherwise." 

"Well, it's easier to laugh these days. We've changed too, in case you didn't notice. You didn't finish what you were saying. It started that day Akihito and Feilong were killed. I never wanted to feel that kind of pain again. Yet it was too late to go back to feeling nothing. I don’t know about you, but it made me work like hell to get it right. Sometimes it was the only thing that made me hang on, the need to feel some happiness."

Asami placed one glass into the old man's frail hand, then sank onto the other end of the couch. "Happiness is a definite improvement. I'd always pushed it away. After that first time in Hong Kong I was positive it was a detriment to everything I wanted to gain. It's turns out it was the key to everything." Asami thought of the young man down the hall who'd given up everything for his and Feilong's happiness, and thought the least he could do was make sure he gave that in return.

The old man smirked. "I like seeing you enjoying life. And Akihito."

"Thanks to you." Asami raised his glass slightly before taking another sip. "So, we're done now. You don't have to worry anymore. Do you want some money or something? I made a killing picking up Microsoft stock this time. You can retire somewhere nice. Maybe pick up a bishounen or two. I know a good delivery service."

The older man snorted. "Never one to waste money or time, eh? No. I'm tired, Ryuichi. Very tired. I think I'd like to retire permanently, if you don't mind."

The glass paused halfway to Asami's lips. "You're giving me the other watch?"

"Yes. I have no idea what will happen to me once I do. I suppose I'll fade away like Akihito did. But to be honest, that's the kind of rest that sounds nice. All the experiments we had to do to get to this point... You have no idea how hard it was to hold on. I'm just ready for a good long sleep."

Asami stared at himself, feeling the weight of the burden the other had carried in those words. "Of course. It's up to you. There's no need to tell you how grateful I am."

"Not really, since I experience all you do."

Asami almost blushed. Almost. "All? I knew some, but all?"

The other smirked again. 'All. That was some wild ride earlier. I don't know that my heart could take another like it. The sweetest part though was that little burst of love you felt."

"Yeah, well..."

The older one laughed. "There's nothing like embarrassing the hell out of a beautiful man. If I were younger..."

Asami shook his head. "I can't believe you're even suggesting such a thing. And I can't believe I'd consider it. Give me the damned watch before we break the laws of nature any more than we have. Some things are just _wrong_."

The old Asami laughed as he reached into his suit and pulled out the watch. He looked at it and polished it against his sleeve. "Well then. Here's to new adventures. Goodbye, Ryuichi."

Asami reached out and took the watch with one hand, his other hand grasping the withered hand that had held it. It was light, almost insubstantial. "Thank you."

"Just stay the course. Don't let all that I've done end up being for nothing." He paused, his eyes softening. "Love Akihito. Don't ever let him go."

Asami nodded, watching himself fade. "That I promise."

And then he was alone. He'd miss himself. They'd been through hell together. He had no idea how many years it had taken. He'd lost count a long time ago. But he'd made a promise, and they'd kept it.

It had been nice to have a friend who instantly accepted and understood everything about him. Although, he supposed, he could recreate him anytime he wanted. He started considering the advantages of having a clone. Then he started considering the disadvantages of that clone being another Asami Ryuichi and quickly gave up on the idea. 

He sat there for a while longer, finishing his drink, thinking about all the lifetimes he'd lived. He was glad this was the last one. Akihito, he still needed some work, but things were coming along nicely there. 

And Feilong... That had taken some doing but it was good now. He'd never known a more stubborn group of people than the Lius, so intent on ruining their own happiness. 

He'd spoken to Feilong on the phone earlier and expressed his condolences about Liu senior. Even with the weight of his loss, Feilong had sounded freer and happier than Asami could ever remember him being. Feilong couldn't remember his past lives. Asami had made sure of that. Now Feilong's heart was what it was always meant to be. Asami smirked. _According to_ my _threads of fate._

The ice clinked in his empty glass as he set it on the end table. He took the watch over to the safe and laid the second watch next to the first inside it. He stared at them, considering. They were such small things, for being able to work such great changes. _But really_ , he mused, _the greatest changes were the ones we made in ourselves_. He shook his head at his philosophizing, then closed the door of the safe with a snap.

It was time to stop thinking about the past. He stepped out of the study, and headed down the hallway to his future.

 

~~~

 

He awoke to the familiar feel of a cool breeze that carried the scent of flowers. He was lying in a meadow under a blue sky, small fluffy clouds spread here and there across it, like sheep grazing in a meadow. He felt lighter, as if the years had been stripped from him. 

He sat up, easily. And stared down. His hands were those of his body when he'd first begun this long journey. He held them up, marveling at their youth.

He heard laughter behind him. He smiled. Now, it was all perfect. A young hand reached over his shoulder and took his. He looked up, and let himself be pulled up toward the prettiest pair of laughing brown eyes he'd ever seen.

 

~end~


End file.
